


with you, once again

by bidachii



Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life, baekil is a thing, crackship, mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 21:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8028961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidachii/pseuds/bidachii
Summary: the walk back home felt way too short to baekhyun’s liking, even when he dragged each of his step to prolong the time he was spending with taeil. truthfully, he enjoyed taeil’s company more than he thought he would. and he would like it if they could... keep meeting each other from now on.





	with you, once again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaehyoons97](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaehyoons97/gifts).



> this happened because i love baekhyun (if that wasn't obvious yet) and taeil. and they used to do hapkido, even if taeil only did briefly. so my mind was like, 'why not?' and thus started my suffering. (jk i enjoyed writing this... kinda.)
> 
> hope you enjoy reading this one, nonetheless <3
> 
> title is from nct127's [once again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PETw7b8GnZk).

baekhyun remembered him; they were enrolled in the same hapkido training class when he was in elementary school. he was two years older than the guy, even though baekhyun had always been the childish, louder one.

moon taeil. baekhyun used to think he would continue doing hapkido for a long time—he was one of the best baekhyun had ever seen. his posture was perfect, his movement was smooth, and his hits were powerful. it was as if he was dancing and baekhyun used to watch him in awe.

sadly, taeil had received a hard blow to the front of his knee at a tournament, forcing him to quit hapkido altogether. baekhyun hadn't seen the guy since.

until now.

 

it was a surprise that taeil was the one who greeted him first. then again, baekhyun hadn't really changed much since childhood. and baekhyun didn't think he'd recognize taeil, anyway, given how much _he_ had changed.

"is that color the current trend or something?" baekhyun said, squinting at taeil's ash-colored hair. he tried not to grumble when he realized that taeil was the same height as him, despite being younger. "i've seen it _everywhere_ , chanyeol had it and it stupidly suited him."

taeil's laugh was something he had never heard before—they weren't close enough to joke around with each other before, and they gravitated towards different circles of friends, naturally. but now, seeing and hearing taeil's laugh, baekhyun regretted not trying to get closer to him, because his laugh was... _adorable_.

"i just wanted to try something new," taeil explained, fingers brushing his hair self-consciously, "i swear it's not to make a statement."

baekhyun hummed, not entirely convinced, but he let the topic go. "so, like, are you free? i'm bored and having someone to talk to sounds very tempting right now."

 

taeil walked with a slight limp on his right leg. baekhyun only noticed because he had been (trying to) inconspicuously staring at his right knee. he winced, heart suddenly clenching at the thought of taeil not being able to function his legs the way he used to. he might not know how it felt, exactly, but he could imagine, and it was unpleasant. suddenly, baekhyun wanted to be taeil's support. he was older, baekhyun rationalized with himself, he should be able to support his younger friends.

"hey," he called to taeil after they settled down at an empty table for two, in a small quaint cafe that always smelled like vanilla and coffee, "um, i'm sorry about what happened to your leg..."

taeil replied with an embarrassed chuckle and dismissed baekhyun's concern with a wave of his hand, "it's alright, it happened a decade ago. and it's not your fault, hyung, why are you apologizing?"

baekhyun's face warmed at that; he was just trying to be friendly though apparently it was unnecessary. he was about to say something to alleviate the awkwardness he felt when taeil continued his sentence.

"but, thanks for your concern. i appreciate it," he told baekhyun with a smile.

to that, baekhyun smiled back, albeit shyly.

 

"you know, i used to look up to you, hyung."

baekhyun raised his eyebrows at taeil's statement. he must say, he didn't quite expect taeil to say something like that. the blush on taeil's cheeks told baekhyun that he wasn't used to expressing his admiration.

" _used to_?" baekhyun said, teasing, leaning on his arms on the table. "i'm disappointed, does that mean you don't look up to me anymore?"

seeing taeil sputter, weirdly, made him all giddy inside. teasing taeil was fun, and baekhyun wouldn't actually mind if he could do it everyday.

"that's _really_ not what i meant," taeil told him with a hand half-covering his face in embarrassment. baekhyun briefly wondered if taeil was always embarrassed. "i mean, you used to be called the 'hapkido genius' by everyone. we all thought you'd become a professional athlete. but i heard you quit not long after me..."

"oh, that." baekhyun scratched his cheek, averting his gaze. he had no real reason for quitting hapkido; it had gradually become less interesting for him. "honestly, it started to become a chore and i stopped enjoying it," he shrugged, "my parents were supportive but they were also expecting things from me. i can't explain it well, but i guess that's why."

opposite of him, taeil said an inaudible _i see_ while nodding a couple times. he seemed to be contemplating something but decided not to say anything. baekhyun didn't push him.

 

without the two of them realizing, the sun had long set in the horizon.

the walk back home felt way too short to baekhyun’s liking, even when he dragged each of his step to prolong the time he was spending with taeil. truthfully, he enjoyed taeil’s company more than he thought he would. and he would like it if they could... keep meeting each other from now on.

“i really had fun today,” baekhyun told taeil after they’d stopped in front of his house. he stared at the ground, feeling inexplicably sad. “thanks for listening to my childish demand, and thanks for walking me home.”

taeil chuckled, shook his head and replied, “it was nothing, really. i’m grateful for your company, as well.”

then there was silence, both of them not knowing what to say. baekhyun was still refusing to look at taeil, as he could feel the younger’s gaze lingering on him. shifting his weight from one foot to another, baekhyun brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck.

“i should... get inside,” he said, trying to fake a cheerful tone. but taeil stayed silent for a few more moments, before speaking up.

“hyung. i... would like it very much if we could keep seeing each other from now on.”

baekhyun’s eyes widened—did taeil just read his mind?—the statement made him look up to see taeil’s expression. he was serious. it rendered baekhyun speechless.

“i had a crush on you, back then. and now that we’ve met again like this... i noticed i still had feelings for you. so i’ve decided to act on them.” as taeil continued to explain, baekhyun’s face was slowly getting redder and redder. was taeil confessing to him? he honestly didn’t see that coming—they had barely interacted, how was it even possible for taeil to like _like_ him?

“i—i don’t—i mean—” was baekhyun’s intelligent response. taeil’s boldness had caught him off guard, and now he was stuttering; really unlike the usual byun baekhyun. great.

taeil smiled seeing baekhyun so flustered. he’d never seen baekhyun like this before. reaching out with a hand, he gently stroked baekhyun’s cheek, the gesture making the older’s face redden even more if that was possible.

“it’s okay if you don’t want to. i know it’s weird for me to be asking you this, we hadn’t seen each other for a long time, after all.”

baekhyun fervently shook his head, wordlessly denying everything taeil just said. “it’s not like that, i—” he paused to take a deep breath, to calm his racing heart, “—i would like to meet more often, is what i was trying to say...”

glancing at taeil’s face, baekhyun took a note of how it was taeil’s turn to widen his eyes, how his face had darkened with a deep blush. his hand that was still on baekhyun’s cheek trembled slightly, then curled to carefully cradle his face. a smile, bright and relieved, tugged at the corners of taeil’s mouth and it was the most beautiful thing baekhyun had seen today. his heart skipped a beat. perhaps he made the right choice.

“okay,” taeil said, nodding his head, “okay.”

they continued staring into each other’s faces, as if trying to commit even the smallest details into memory. as if they wouldn’t meet each other again.

but taeil broke the moment, and leaned in to place a lingering kiss on baekhyun’s warm cheek.

before baekhyun was able to process what was happening, however, taeil pulled back, along with his hand. baekhyun missed his touch already.

“you should go inside now, it’s getting colder,” taeil told him with a small smile. “good night, hyung.”

baekhyun cleared his throat, starting to walk backwards to his house’s front door. “good night.” he opened the door, but stopped and stared at taeil, biting his lower lip. “i’ll see you again tomorrow?”

taeil blinked a couple times, chuckling after. “yeah. i’ll see you again tomorrow. promise.”

the promise invited a bright grin to baekhyun’s face and it didn’t disappear even when he was all ready for sleep. it was then that he remembered he hadn’t asked for taeil’s number, but that was okay—they’d meet again tomorrow.

tomorrow, baekhyun would try and get closer to taeil. he had a confession to return.

**Author's Note:**

> sits on the baekhyun/taeil island.
> 
> i have lots of jaehyun/taeil to write and finish, so i'm glad to be able to get this one out of the way. /cries.
> 
> if you read until this far, thank you very much! thank you for giving this crackship a chance lol ;w;


End file.
